Handmade in Dumfries, Virginia
Every piece starts with a fragment of glass or pottery that Rachel Knotts finds by hand along the Potomac, many of them 150–200+ years old. No two are ever alike.
Est. 2024 · Dumfries, VAOne of one, always.
What is Tidewater Trove?
Tidewater Trove is a Virginia artisan studio that turns authentic Potomac River glass and pottery into one-of-a-kind jewelry and home goods. Founder Rachel Knotts recovers every fragment herself along the river’s shoreline.
These pieces tell the story of the people, industries and communities that once lived along the Potomac. Because the historic materials can never be replicated, each creation is truly one of a kind. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.
Meet Rachel and read how it beganThe collections
Every collection is built around real river-found glass and pottery.
Necklaces, bracelets and charms, from subtle everyday pieces to statement layers. Each design begins with an authentic fragment of river-found pottery or glass.
Shop jewelry
Serving boards with hand-poured resin waves, shard-accented wine glasses and coastal accents that bring the river to your table.
Shop home goods
Made around a person, a memory or a milestone: a gift, a celebration or a remembrance, with budgets from under $75 to $200+.
Start a custom pieceThe Cabinet of Finds
Turn over a few of Rachel’s finds from the Potomac shoreline to see what their patterns and markings can tell us.
Find No. 01
Printed maker's mark · pottery
Find No. 01
This rearing unicorn most likely comes from a backstamp, the maker's mark printed under a plate or dish. Many 1800s English potters, and some American ones, used a version of the British royal coat of arms: a lion and a unicorn holding a shield beneath a crown.
A unicorn shard also appears in the Tidewater Trove logo.
What the crowns and unicorns meanFind No. 02
Printed maker's mark · pottery
Find No. 02
A small crown from the top of a printed maker's mark. The royal arms changed in 1837, when Queen Victoria came to the throne, so the details in a full mark can hint at whether a piece is older or newer than that.
Read about maker's marksFind No. 03
Four backstamp fragments
Find No. 03
Crowns, shields and a rearing unicorn from several different dishes. Finding part of a crest is a clue to where, and roughly when, a piece was made.
How crests help date a findFind No. 04
Blue-and-white transferware
Find No. 04
Transferware is pottery decorated by transfer printing: a design engraved on a copper plate is printed onto tissue paper, then pressed onto the ceramic before glazing. The process developed in England from the 1750s.
What is transferware?Find No. 05
Blue-and-white pottery
Find No. 05
Bold cobalt blue is one of the most loved colors on the shoreline. Blue-and-white transferware was at its most popular in the first half of the 1800s, and America was a major market for it.
Ask for blue-and-white in a custom pieceFind No. 06
Printed pottery
Find No. 06
A white shard printed with red, white and blue flags and a few letters that are still readable. Every fragment keeps a handful of clues: a pattern, a color, a scrap of lettering.
Explore the history behind the findsFind No. 07
Pottery from one search
Find No. 07
Blue transferware, floral prints, a red-banded rim and plain white pieces, laid out after a single search of the shoreline. Each one is cleaned and chosen for its color, pattern and markings before it becomes a piece.
How Rachel finds and makes each pieceFind No. 08
Frosted glass + pottery
Find No. 08
River glass is broken glass, often from old bottles and jars, tumbled by water and sand until its edges are smooth and its surface is frosted. Rachel uses it right alongside pottery.
Shop river glass and pottery piecesSources for these notes are listed on the history page.
Rachel joined ABC7’s Good Morning Washington to share how she turns treasures found along the Potomac River into handcrafted jewelry and keepsakes.
Watch the feature on WJLA.com (opens in a new tab)“Sustainability is what this business is all about. Giving back and making something out of nothing makes Tidewater Trove stand out from the crowd.”
Handcrafted with history
Every design begins with an authentic piece of river-found pottery or glass and is finished entirely by hand.
Step oneRachel searches the Potomac River shoreline by hand for glass and pottery the river has carried and softened.
Step twoEach fragment is carefully cleaned and chosen for its color, pattern and markings.
Step threeRachel never changes a fragment’s shape; it stays just as it washed up. She carefully drills a hole and sometimes adds hand-applied metallic gold leafing accents.
Step fourChains, stones, beads, clasps and other details are chosen and added by hand. No two pieces are ever the same.
Meet the artist
What began in March 2024 with the simple joy of searching the Potomac’s shores became something much more meaningful. Rachel fell in love with the history held in every worn piece of glass and pottery: the patterns, colors and tiny details that offer clues to another time.
My greatest joy is giving these forgotten fragments new life and watching them become meaningful heirlooms for the people who wear them.
Custom orders
Some of the most meaningful Tidewater Trove pieces are created with a particular person, memory or milestone in mind. Custom designs pair river-found pottery or glass with the colors, stones and charms that make a piece unmistakably yours.
Three short steps. Rachel reads every request personally and replies by email or text, your choice. No obligation.
See it in person
Rachel brings her latest pieces to vendor fairs and markets in Virginia, where you can try them on, hear the stories behind the finds and, at some shows, make your own at the Tidewater Trove charm bar. Her jewelry is also sold at Urban Posh Boutique in Occoquan.
Good to know
Tidewater Trove is a Virginia artisan studio run by Rachel Knotts. She turns authentic Potomac River glass and pottery, which she finds by hand along the shoreline, into one-of-a-kind jewelry and home goods.
Many of the fragments Rachel finds date back 150 to 200+ years. They were once plates, bowls, vessels and bottles used by people who lived and worked along the river. A small shard is hard to date exactly, so patterns, glazes and any surviving maker’s mark are the best clues.
They’re close cousins. Sea glass is found on ocean beaches. Tidewater Trove pieces use glass and pottery from the shores of the Potomac, a tidal river, where water and sand soften the edges over time.
No. The river shapes every fragment differently, so each piece is the only one of its kind and can never be made again.
Yes. Rachel designs custom necklaces, bracelets and earrings around a person, memory or milestone, including memorial pieces, with budgets from under $75 to $200+. Start a custom request.
In Dumfries, Virginia. You can browse pieces online, find Tidewater Trove jewelry at Urban Posh Boutique (203 Washington St, Occoquan, VA) and see Rachel in person at vendor fairs. See upcoming events.
Browse one-of-a-kind pieces, or ask Rachel to design something around a person, memory or milestone.
